The U.S. company was a relatively late arrival in India, but it has quickly scaled to cover 11 cities and make India its second largest market. Initially lagging behind a handful of local firms, Uber is making its large pile of funding count with a series of eye-catching (and cash-burning) promotions, the latest of which is free rides for anyone in the country between Wednesday and Sunday.

Uber said it will give all customers who link their account with its new wallet payments system five free rides, to the value of up to 300 INR per trip ($4.90 — a good sum in India). That is valid across all three services that it offers in India and in each of the 11 cities it serves.

With the free promotion and Uber Go in particular, the U.S. company is taking the lead in a major price war that is sweeping India’s nascent taxi app market.

A recent story from Indian news website Live Mint suggested that Uber and close rival Ola are absorbing more than 50 percent losses on certain journeys to build their brand among consumers. In addition, drivers claimed that, beyond a standard bonus for taking a certain number of trips per day, Uber rewards them with cash just for keeping its app open all day.

That’s a pretty clear indication of the level of competition, which Uber has taken up a notch with this ‘free week’ offer.

Yet, despite the vast investments it has made, it remains unclear whether Uber’s efforts are building its brand as the top choice in India, or whether it is simply helping the taxi app industry itself gain greater visibility and awareness among consumers.

It’s too early to know for sure, but Uber certainly has the resources to run parts of its business at a loss for sustained periods. And India — with a billion-plus population, a freer climate of business than China, and an impending smartphone revolution — is unsurprisingly at the top of the U.S. company’s growth list.

Uber’s long-term plans are widely thought to include supplying additional services via its global logistics network. That’s something that’s always caused me to believe that much of its international operations can run at a loss because simply offering a global network is an asset Uber can leverage.

That may not be the case in India, where Uber is seemingly working to entrench itself in a position to dominate India’s taxi space, and perhaps other areas, in the future. Uber does have some localization issues to handle — India is extremely price sensitive and many consumers still prefer to book over the phone, for example — but money talks.

We contacted Uber with a series of questions about its business and revenues in India, but did not hear back from the company at the time of writing.

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OverviewUber, a [San Francisco](/location/san-francisco/528f5e3c90d111115d1c2e4ff979d58e)-based technology startup, is innovating at the intersection of lifestyle and logistics. Uber connects riders with safe, reliable, convenient transportation providers at a variety of price-points in cities around the world.